


I, Sea, You

by Oh_Contrary



Series: One Week, One Wooing: Shance Fluff Week 2017 [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Female Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Homesick Lance (Voltron), Hurt/Comfort, M/M, more fluff??
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-07
Updated: 2017-06-07
Packaged: 2018-11-10 01:55:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,687
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11117457
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Oh_Contrary/pseuds/Oh_Contrary
Summary: Shiro finds himself growing more aware of Lance, and, when our blue paladin sinks into a bout of homesickness, Shiro is more than ready to lend an ear.





	I, Sea, You

Lance had been restless the entire mission. Keith had snapped at him twice for being too chatty on the comms, and even Shiro had stepped in, asking to clear the channel until they had rounded up the last of the small galra fleet. Even so, Lance couldn’t sit still. And honestly, how could you expect him to? Right below them, sparkling on the surface of the planet they were fighting above, was water. Clear, blue water littered with tiny, colorful islands.

He couldn’t wait for this fight to be over. Just the thought of it, cool and silky on his skin— would Allura let them go swimming if he asked? Maybe they could spend the rest of the day. The team has to unwind somehow after taking down half a battalion. He doesn’t even need the whole day. Just an hour to swim again—

“Lance, focus,” Pidge snapped through the comms swerving her lion around Blue.

“Sorry, Pidgeon,” Lance said, too excited to let anything ruin his mood as she grumbled into the comms about the nickname.

After minutes that seemed to drag on, they were finally done. All the galra ships threatening that beautiful, blue planet? Destroyed.

They all docked their lions and Lance was one of the first to make it from the hangar to the bridge, Blue purring after him, feeding off of his joyful mood. He bounced and fidgeted as he waited for the others to come up and debrief. Once they finished that, they could visit the locals on that watery, wonderful planet. He would do anything, even if he could just sit on a beach—

“Excellent work, paladins,” Allura said, clapping her hands together as Coran pulled up the data from the fight. “That was a very quick fight for you. Well done. You can all go change and take a well-deserved rest. We have already been hailed by the Vicar of Girda. We will be hosting the Queen and her daughter tonight on the ship, so get plenty of rest beforehand. Coran and I will brief you on Girdan etiquette the hour before.” She smiled around the room at them, before clapping again. “Dismissed.”

Lance looked around as the others all began to pick up their helmets and make for the door.

“W-wait, Princess,” Lance started, voice tight. The others turned to watch. “Aren’t we going down to the surface? I mean, can we? Before the meeting and all?”

“Unfortunately, the planet’s atmosphere is highly toxic,” Allura started. Lance registered her saying something else and wishing him a good rest before she, and the others turned and left, but Lance hardly noticed. In the back of his mind he felt Blue crooning at him, trying to lift his quickly plummeting mood, but to no avail.

He was jolted from his reverie by a hand on his shoulder. He jumped, turning to look over at Shiro, who was looking at him worriedly.

“Lance, are you okay?”

“O-of course. Why wouldn’t I be?” Lance said, shaking the hand off his shoulder and exiting the bridge, which had emptied except for them.

Shiro watched, confused, as Lance left the bridge. He had seemed so happy earlier. Even during the mission he had been chatty, all nicknames and banter as they rounded up ships. Now he looked ready to cry. Concerned, Shiro rushed out into the hall, hoping to catch Lance and— talk to him? Comfort him? He didn’t know, but ever since talking with Lance in the changing room a few weeks ago, he’d found himself especially aware of the blue paladin and his moods. If anything, Shiro was learning to look past the jokes and flirtation at Lance and the varied, emotional, young adult he was.

Shiro looked down the empty hallways and sighed. Lance must have bolted the minute he was out the door.

*

Shiro didn’t see Lance again until the team meeting before the diplomatic dinner. They all came dressed in formal Altean robes, Coran having had the castle make them each a set for diplomatic purposes. Coran took them through the basics of Girdan etiquette— waiting for the queen to eat first, followed by Allura, what to say to accept gifts, etc.

The queen arrived with her daughter, and the dinner proceeded smoothly, if more quietly than usual. Shiro wondered if the others also found Lance more withdrawn than usual, or if he had imagined it. Usually he was exceptionally social during these dinners: excited to meet new people and learn about new cultures. It was a welcome balance to his less social teammates. It wasn’t until the middle of the meal, that Lance first spoke.

"Man Vrael,” Lance started, pronouncing the Girdan title perfectly as he addressed the princess, “what are the oceans on your planet like?”

The princess smiled and launched into a description of the ocean and the many islands on her planet, encouraged by Lance’s never-wavering attention. Shiro watched as, for the first time since the mission, Lance seemed like himself. But, as soon as the princess’s attention was directed elsewhere, the boy seemed overcome with melancholy. Before Shiro could dwell on it, he was drawn into a conversation with Allura and the Queen.

The meal finished without any hiccups. At the end of the night, Shiro was assigned to escort the Queen’s pod back into Girdan airspace, where they would meet the royal guard. Shiro left the group and rejoined minutes later, ready in his uniform, only to find Lance suited up as well.

“Allura said I could go too,” he said, answering Shiro’s questioning look. Shiro sent him a nod and a smile and they boarded their respective lions.

On the flight there, Shiro and Lance flanked the Girdan pod in their lions until they were just inside the Girdan atmosphere. From there, they waited to be hailed by the royal guard. But as they idled in the air, Shiro noticed the blue lion making restless movements, and through the comms he could hear Lance making the occasional wistful noise— a sigh, something muttered in Spanish, another sigh. Shiro almost interrupted to let Lance know that his comm was open, but before he could, they were hailed by the royal guard. Within moments it was time to leave.

Shiro turned his lion towards the castle, preparing to burst back through the Girdan atmosphere before—

“Wait!” Shiro stopped, turning his lion around so he could see Blue, still idling in the air, but facing the sea just beyond the nearest island.

Lance cleared his throat. “Is it okay if we just… take a minute?”

“Of course, Lance,” Shiro said, pulling his lion down towards Blue. They sat a minute in silence, Shiro just listening as Lance sighed in his lion. But one minute ticked into two and then five, until finally Shiro said, “I think we need to get back.”

On the other side of the comm Lance cleared his throat twice and managed a small “Yeah. Sure,” before swinging his lion around and heading back towards the castle.

When they docked in the hangar, Shiro climbed out of his lion and pulled off his helmet. He stood by the hangar door and waited for Lance to disembark, but he never emerged. Shiro put his helmet back on, and was about to hail Lance on the comm when he heard muffled sniffling.

Shiro walked to where the blue lion was lying, hoping against hope that she would let him in. She begrudgingly (if a giant robot lion can be begrudged) opened her jaws and he climbed in. He found Lance curled up in his pilot’s chair, not quite crying, but definitely close.

“Everything okay?”

Lance jumped, whirling towards Shiro and nodding quickly.

“Yeah, of course, why wouldn’t it be? Successful mission, successful dinner— “

“Lance,” Shiro sighed, coming to kneel in front of the blue paladin’s chair. “You can talk to me.”

Lance stopped, mouth moving wordlessly for a moment before—

“I never realized how much I missed the ocean,” he whispered, voice cracking at the end as hot tears began to roll down his face. “And I know it’s stupid. We’ve been on other ocean planets before and I haven’t— at least not like this— but just seeing that water, and the islands, and knowing that there are probably beaches down there… It just made me really homesick.” Lance swiped furiously at his eyes, tears disappearing into the material of his gloves before looking at where Shiro knelt on the floor. He barked out a wry laugh. “Great, and now I’m being a big baby in front of you—”

Lance was interrupted by arms snaking around him and pulling him halfway out of the chair and into a hug.

“It’s okay to miss home,” Shiro said into the crook of Lance’s neck. “And I don’t mind you crying in front of me. In fact, I’m glad. Not that you’re crying, but that you trust me.” Shiro pulled back a bit, supporting Lance easily with his arms as the younger boy teetered on the edge of his chair. He looked Lance in the eye. “You can always come to me with things like this, Lance. In fact I like it. I’d rather know what’s wrong than spend the whole day guessing.”

“The whole day?” Lance asked, uncurling and putting his feet on the ground between them. Shiro paused before nodding with a chuckle.

“Lance, you’re pretty easy to read if you know what to look for,” Shiro said with a shy smile.

“And you know what to look for?” Lance asked, voice just missing teasing and coming out equally shy as Shiro’s expression.

“I’m learning.” Lance ducked his head, looking at his feet on the floor just in front of Shiro’s knees. Lance nodded once to himself. Shiro smiled at him, before getting to his feet and offering Lance a hand.

“Ready to go back?” Shiro asked. Lance hummed a yes, taking Shiro’s hand and letting himself be pulled to his feet and led out of Blue.

And if he didn’t let go until they exited the hangar, then only their lions had to know.

**Author's Note:**

> Visit me on [tumblr](https://profoundprincessface.tumblr.com/)!


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